COVINA – A battle that has been brewing for the past few months between a well-established downtown restaurant and a new neighboring nightspot will come to a head at this week’s City Council meeting.

The Covina Planning Commission in October unanimously approved an outside seating and alcohol permit for a new restaurant and entertainment venue, RED, which will operate next to 3 Vino’s, a Latin eatery and night club at 201 N. Citrus Ave.

Raul Trevino, owner of 3 Vino’s, is appealing the commission’s decision because he says having two late night entertainment establishments next to each other will create a public safety hazard, drain city police resources, cause traffic congestion and increase crowd control problems.

While RED has yet to open, owner Everett Ramos says Trevino is scared of the new competition coming to town and called his argument “bogus.”

“He’s afraid that I may perhaps come in and take his clients,” Ramos said. “I can’t guarantee that any of his clients aren’t going to come my way and I can’t guarantee my clients won’t go his way. That’s just the nature of the beast.”

The final decision will come down to the City Council when it holds a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 125 E. College St.

Trevino, who opened 3 Vino’s in November 2009, is appealing the outside sidewalk dining area permit that was granted to RED. The appeal doesn’t apply to the restaurant itself or the entertainment and alcohol within the facility, which is scheduled to open early next year.

“If RED was across the street, that would be awesome,” Trevino said. “I would welcome it. But right next door, it’s going to be crazy. It’s going to be chaos. With those problems there could come lawsuits.”

3 Vinos General Manager Karen Galeana argued that there needs to be a buffer between the high-occupancy businesses, which is not required under Covina zoning laws.

“We’re really concerned with the nightlife,” she said. “It’s a nightclub. There’s going to be fights. Our liability will increase and the calls to the police department will double.”

Still, Ramos said his venue, which has a capacity of nearly 300, will focus on California cuisine and be a safe environment for patrons.

“We’re trying to make this an elegant, upscale place for fine dining. We’re not here trying to duplicate any other business in the area,” Ramos said. “We’re not interested in bringing thugs or a young, wild crowd. We feel we can control a lot of the issues that he can’t.”

According to a presentation Covina Police Captain David Povero gave to the commission in October, since 2009, 3 Vino’s has had 227 calls for service.

Other nightlife establishments on Citrus Avenue include Casa Moreno Mexican Grill and Rude Dog Bar and Grill, which have had 53 and 292 calls for service respectively during the same time period, Povero said.

Because of the late night closures of these facilities, much of the police department’s resources have been allocated to the downtown area during the weekends, Povero said.

He explained that the number of calls from entertainment businesses in downtown – which attracts between 700 to 1,000 visitors from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m from Thursday through Saturday – have increased every year.

“There is a draw during the nighttime hours that affects public safety in the city of Covina,” Povero said. “While that is OK and we’re here to provide public safety for these people in the downtown area, it exposes us a bit in other areas of the city. We are putting calls for services by the citizens of Covina at home looking for public safety services on hold.”

Still, the police department has put 28 conditions on RED, including hiring at least six security guards, allowing the police department to modify operating hours, and permitting public safety officials to shut down the facility if safety is jeopardized.

RED, which has been in the works since May, will fill an 8,000-square-foot vacant facility at 211 N. Citrus Avenue.

The downtown street has seen several shops close up over the past few years.

“We’ve talked to the community and they’re very excited,” RED’s general manager Dan Carbajal said about the restaurant’s opening. “Granted there is competition, but our nation was built on competition.”

Although Trevino said he is not concerned about competition, he said it “doesn’t make sense” to have two similar businesses next to one another.

“You can’t put a Baskin Robbin’s next to a Ben and Jerry’s. You can’t put a Starbucks next to a Coffee Bean. It’s not going to work,” he said.

Councilman Walt Allen said he is supportive of free enterprise and wants less vacancies in the downtown area, but public safety takes priority.

“I like the idea of having mixed uses downtown, where we have a vibrant downtown area, where we just don’t have businesses that are closing up at 5 p.m…. and have people who can come and have a little bit of entertainment,” Allen said. “The big thing is to have balance. We like entertainment, but we don’t want to jeopardize public safety. We have to look at all aspects of the issue.”

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